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Bob Brinker's political opinions, which he seems to be sharing with Moneytalk listeners more and more frequently, make him fair game for criticism. Because after all is said and done, they are only his OPINIONs. And it's worth noting that Bob Brinker seldom allows any desenting opinions on the air for very long.
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In my weekend Moneytalk summary, I reported the bare-bones basics of Bob Brinker’s comments about the FAIRTAX when I wrote:
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FAIRTAX: This is a 30% sales tax that some are proposing, but seems to go nowhere. Brinker said it is “absurd” and a “giant waste of time” because “it is not going to happen.”
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The following is excerpted from "David Korn's Stock Market Commentary, Interpretation of Moneytalk (Bob Brinker Host), Financial Education, Helpful Links, Guest Editorials, and Special Alert E-Mail Service. Copyright David Korn, L.L.C. 2007 November 10-11, 2007 Newsletter. To subscribe go to www.begininvesting.com.
FAIR TAX
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Caller: This caller said the solution to the tax problems is to get rid of the income tax and adopt a national sales tax. Bob asked what you would do to the people who get the deduction for mortgages on their houses? The caller said people would save money from their income taxes and so it wouldn't be a big issue. The caller said simply doing away with all of the paperwork would make everything more efficient and save all of us money. Bob disagreed and said the whole notion was ridiculous and cut the caller off just as he was trying to give a website for more information about the fair tax.
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Brinker Comment: People been talking about fair tax for years, but it has never gone anywhere. Why? Because it is absurd. For one thing, if you do the math the actual number required on sales tax solution is around 30%. Can you imagine paying 30% on everything you purchased? Obviously, the more money you spend the more you would pay. In that sense, it is a progressive tax and would redistribute income even if that was not the intent. We are told it would do away with the IRS, but so what? It would be replaced with the Bureau of Sales Tax collection. Placing a 30% sales tax on everything is not going to solve our problems. Don't lose sleep over this. We aren't going to replace the current tax system with this. There is way too much money invested in the current tax code and the lobbyists in Washington are hard at work. What we need to do is to raise enough money to pay our country's debt. The solution is not to change to a sales tax system. The solution is to curb our spending -- something neither political party in Washington has been willing to do.
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EC: If you are interested in learning more about the fair tax, I suggest
this web site:
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http://www.fairtax.org/
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Honeybee here: The following is excerpted from Neal Boortz’ column, called “Daily Nuze” to read the whole column go to:
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http://boortz.com/nuze/200711/11122007.html
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"Monday, November 12, 2007
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BOB BRINKER?
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Sorry ... but I've never heard of him. We did get this email last
night about Bob Brinker though .. so I thought that I would print the
email and respond.
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First ... here's the text of the email:
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‘Bob Brinker, a widely listened to financial advisor and talk show
host, knocked the Fair Tax big time on his show today. He seemed to
think that the tax rate would be 30% and that no one would be willing
to give up their home mortgage deduction. I don't think it would do
too much good for me to e-mail him and protest since he reamed the
Fair Tax advocating caller a new one and then cut him off. Perhaps
you could straighten him out talk show host to talk show host. Other
than the Fair Tax his financial advise has been outstanding.’
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Now .. my response. Be forewarned, I'm getting a little weary of
responding to people who bring up this 30 percent argument and the
home mortgage interest deduction.
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First .. the idiotic 30 percent argument. The FairTax replaces the
income tax. The income tax is quoted as an inclusive tax, so is the
FairTax. If some critics out there want to quote the FairTax as
excusive, then at least have the intellectual honesty to quote the
income tax the same way.
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Now .. the home mortgage interest deduction. If Bob Brinker is such
an amazing financial guru, maybe he could explain to all of us just
what possible value a deduction for interest paid on your home
mortgage has to a person who pays no income taxes. When Brinker
answer's that question we might take some of his other criticisms
somewhat seriously. For now, he's a clown."___Neal Boortz
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Honeybee here: Yep, Neal must have seen that picture of Bob Brinker all decked out as a clown. Someone who has a sense of humor created it years ago, and I'm sure even Bob has chuckled about it--well maybe once or twice... 8^)
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8 comments:
Mike Huckabee, a Republican candidate for president, is for the Fair Tax.
Here is an excerpt from a column on his website:
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Instead we will have the FairTax, a simple tax based on wealth. When the FairTax becomes law, it will be like waving a magic wand releasing us from pain and unfairness.
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The FairTax will replace the Internal Revenue Code with a consumption tax, like the taxes on retail sales forty-five states and the District of Columbia have now. All of us will get a monthly rebate that will reimburse us for taxes on purchases up to the poverty line, so that we're not taxed on necessities. That means people below the poverty line won't be taxed at all. We'll be taxed on what we decide to buy, not what we happen to earn. We won't be taxed on what we choose to save or the interest those savings earn. The tax will apply only to new goods, so we can reduce our taxes further by buying a used car or computer.
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Our current progressive tax system penalizes us for working harder and becoming more successful. As we climb the ladder, the government lurks on each rung, hungry for a bigger bite out of our earnings. The FairTax is also progressive, but it doesn't punish the American dream of success, or the old-fashioned virtues of hard work and thrift, it rewards and encourages them. The FairTax isn't intended to raise any more or less money for the federal government to spend - it is revenue neutral.
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Expert analyses have shown that the FairTax lowers the lifetime tax burden of all of us: single or married; working or retired; rich, poor or middle class.
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The FairTax will instantly make American products 12 to 25% more competitive because the cost of those goods will no longer be inflated by corporate taxes, costs of tax compliance, and Social Security matching payments. When we buy products now, those taxes are built into the cost, so all of us pay corporate taxes indirectly on top of the personal taxes we pay directly. Compliance costs are just make-work with no real added value, yet they consume as much as 3% of our gross domestic product annually. These costs are an especially heavy burden on small businesses, which generate most of our jobs.
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If you buy a bottle of domestic wine, you're paying the taxes/compliance/matching payments of all the folks who produced the grapes, the wine, the bottle, the cork, the label. If you buy a bottle of French wine, the producers had their Value Added Tax rebated to them when the wine was exported. So French consumers pay those taxes, but you don't. Our current tax system puts our goods at a disadvantage both here and overseas. Other governments give their goods an advantage on the world market, an advantage estimated at 18% compared to American goods.
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So no matter how hard Americans work, no matter how innovative and creative we are, no matter how superior our products are, we suffer from a built-in competitive disadvantage simply because of our tax system. A recent study by MIT found that our tax system deprives us of about $1 billion in exports annually. When you export over-priced goods as we have, you inevitably end up exporting jobs and industries as we now are. We are the square peg trying to fit into the round hole of international trade. The rest of the world isn't going to change, it's time that we do.
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Under the FairTax, American companies are far less likely to move overseas and foreign companies are far more likely to come here, hiring Americans to build and work in their new plants. The FairTax encourages growth by promoting investment and capital formation.
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We have to scrap a 20th century tax system that is holding us back and keeping us down in the 21st century. The FairTax is the path to greater prosperity and job security for us and for our children.....
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(To read the complete column, go here):
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http://www.mikehuckabee.com/index.cfm?FuseAction=Issues.View&Issue_id=5
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I'm with Boortz on this one. I value Bob's opinion on investing and markets, but clearly, he has not done his homework on the Fair Tax. America is in desperate need of tax reform; our tax laws really are a joke. And our current tax code punishes income earners who play by the rules; the Fair Tax would result in tax revenues from many who currently escape tax by cheating the system.
Finally, a question for Brinker: If we stop taxing income, why would anyone object to losing an "income tax deduction?" THERE WOULD BE NO INCOME TAX!! Get it? THERE WOULD BE NO INCOME TAX. Period.
Love you, Bob! But please read Neal's books! I'll continue listening to Moneytalk OnDemand and reading Marketimer. I'm devoted to you. But please don't be "down" on the Fair Tax until you're "up" on it.
Thank you.
I don't think I need to see copy cat political comments from yet another candidate who doesn't stand a chance. How boring!
Ambrose,
Thank you for your comments. It's helpful to know what others think is boring. 8^)
Hiker,
Great comments about/to Bob Brinker. Let's hope he acts accordingly. 8^)
I'm not sure how to post about a new topic (new thread?) but tonight, Jack Bogle (do I need identify him as the founder of Vanguard?) is scheduled to be interviewed by Marie Bartoroma on CNBC at 7:30 pm (Sunday night). Half hour show.
Thank you.
Hello Hiker
"I'm not sure how to post about a new topic (new thread?) "
We have a new "Bob Brinker Discusssion Forum" now at facebook. That is a great place to post information to share with a wide audience. It has tools not availble "elsewhere" to keep out those who just wanted to cause trouble where Brinker fans and critics enjoy posting without personal attacks.
You can also post notes here for suggestions for Honey to make new topics.
Are you the person who used to post as "Thruhiker" in a forum I used to moderate? If so, It is good to hear from you and I hope you join us at facebook's Investing For The Long Term.
Kirk out
Thank you very much Hiker...I will be sure to not miss that...
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